Earlier in the month, the company had cut its annual profits forecast by a fifth, while chief executive Diana Hunter, who had been in charge since 2013, resigned.

And at the end of March, it announced that an effort to raise £125m from shareholders had failed.

It was a rapid fall from grace for the company, which had reported half-year pre-tax profits of £7.4m at the end of January.

In a statement, KPMG said: “As reported by the company, it experienced margin weakness at the start of 2018 and also a significant payment to HMRC, which had not been included within its short-term cash flow projections, creating a short-term funding requirement.

“Our audit of the company’s financial statements for the year ended 30 April 2018 had not yet commenced at the point which administrators were appointed.”